Dads parent differently than mothers, a University of Delaware researcher says.

Rob Palkovitz says fathers tend to be more unpredictable and engage in more fun activities with their kids, perhaps to make up for generally spending less time with the children than mothers do.

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Discuss: More Fun: Moms Or Dads?

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Mothers, he said, tend to play a greater role in care-giving and interact with children at multiple levels.

"When fathers come on the scene, they engage in spontaneous, unpredictable and wacky stuff in order to have a higher impact, sort of 'I'm home! It's going to be impossible to ignore me!'" Palkovitz says. "It's making up for absence in time by presence in intensity."

The professor also said that it is most exaggerated in fathers who don't live with their children.

Fathers play a critical role in their daughter's lives, Palkovitz says. Research shows that a father's involvement in a daughter's school activities pays bigger dividends for the girl in terms of academic achievement and career promotion than such involvement does for sons.

However, Palkovitz cautions that these findings are based on limited research that most likely has been influenced by stereotypes about sex-appropriate behavior. For example, he said, this greater impact on girls is seen when fathers encourage them to engage in math or science careers or other areas that have traditionally been underrepresented by females.

On the other hand, men are less likely to encourage their sons to develop a feminine side, Palkovitz said.